Saint's
Row: The Third

E3 2011 Update:
This game is one big ridiculous sandbox with a silly comic book story,
with an emphasis on over-the-top action and random violence. What other
game allows the player to suck up pedestrians with a vehicle then fire
them like cannon balls? Then attack a car with a giant purple dildo? Or
use a VTL jet to fly through the city?

There's only one game in this particular sandbox category: Saints Row:
The Third.

- Aaron Simmer

(September 5, 2011)

Saint's Row: The Third picks-up where
Saint's Row 2 wrapped up. With the Ultor corporation taken down (for the
most part) and the rival gangs incapacitated, Stilwater falls under
control of the Saints. It's all good until a heist goes incredibly wrong
and players wind up in Steelport, which is being controlled by three
rival

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gangs: the Morning Star, the Luchadores,
and the Deckers.

Throw in a fourth faction, the Special Tactical Anti-Gang (STAG), it
sounds like a great setup for an open-world sandbox game.

If there's one thing that the previous Saint's Row games have
demonstrated, it's that developer Volition really took the "sandbox" to
heart. Maybe not as

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acrobatic as the Just Cause games, Saint's
Row has cultivated its patch of gaming with a certain off-colour, un-PC
wackiness and that looks to continue. C'mon, the Luchadores are lead by
a Mexican wrestler! And there's a pic of a character (not shown here)
wielding a giant rubber penis like a sword. Subtle this game is not!

Saint's Row: The Third has focused its online strategy on co-op play
throughout, rather than developing some kind of competitive online
experience. Personally, I like this approach. A sandbox is much more fun
when I have a buddy along for the ride. Even better, Volition is
promising that the second player will also get credit for the missions.

Aside from the usual character, weapon, and
vehicle upgrades, another RPG-esque element of Saint's Row: The Third is
the chance to choose how a mission is ended.

In the vein of Fallout 3's Megaton choice, Game Informer noted that one
mission can end with the destruction of downtown tower, which has an
effect not only on the skyline for the rest of the game but will also
boost "respect" from the various gangs and make NPCs respond to the
Saints differently. However, leave the building in one piece and it can
become a base of operations for the Saints.

There are all sorts of potential for
decisions like these, especially if they have implications for the
overall story. Volition is also making sure the plot lines of the gangs
bounce off each other; making choices and deals made with one gang may
affect the reactions of the other gangs. I wouldn't expect Volition to
tip their hand on how this particular aspect will work in practice
before the game's scheduled arrival sometime in Q4 2011. Other games
have attempted such a feature and have fallen short so Volition has
their work cut out for themselves.

On paper, Saint's Row: The Third sounds like a winner. A great big world
to run around in, loads of side missions, upgrades and customization
options galore, and two-player co-op throughout all adds up to
Anticipation.